Bag closing device



June .18, 1957 EN N ETAL 2,795,790

' BAG CLOSING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Ju 1y 12, 1955 INVENTORS BY my ATTO/P/VE) United States Patent BAG CLOSING DEVICE Bernard T. Hensgen and Deios B. Van Dolah, Chicago, and William J. Patterson, La Grange, and Stephen W. Lis, Chicago, Ill., assignors to Swift as Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application July 12, 1955, Serial No. 521,573

2 Claims. (Ci. 1-217) The'present invention relates to apparatus for applying fastening .clips to a gathered flexible member such as a plastic bag.

The continually increasing use of plastic films in, the packaging of various products has resulted in the development of various means for closing the ends of tubes Another object of the invention is to provide a tool i that will crimp the fastener about the neck of the bag in such a fashion that it securely engages the bag and doesnt slip endwise along the neck of the bag because of any rough handling of the bag or pressure within the bag against the neck. In this respect we prefer to use a flat clip which aids in engaging the bag and also provides less tendency of the bag to tear in the area where the clip is applied.

One of the features of the invention is the incorporation of a magazine that cooperates with the type of clip and tool so as to enable the user of the tool to quickly obtain a clip mounted in proper position in the tool for proper operation and crimping of the clip about the neck of the bag. This cooperation is obtained although the tool is separable from the magazine thereby not making the tool bulky or unwieldy to use.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the tool that forms a part of this invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the jaws of the tool of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the tool and magazine with portions thereof broken away;

Figure 4 is a section taken at line 44 of Figure 3;

Figures 5, 6 and 7 are views of the end of the tool showing the successive steps in the application of the clip to a bag; and

Figure 8 is a view of the end of the bag with the clip applied thereto.

The invention was devised for use with a fastener generally 10 of a type readily available on the market, it being one of the types of fasteners used with other of the more elaborate equipment previously mentioned. This fastener is in the form of a flat metal band having a U-shaped configuration as seen in Figures 4 and 5. On the outside of the band adjacent each end thereof is a recess 11 (Figure 8) with a corresponding lug 12 on the inside of the fastener. The recess 11 and the corresponding lug 12 are formed by a drawing operation in the manufacture of the fastener wherein the metal of the band is displaced.

Referring to Figure 1, it will be seen that the tool, generally 14, has a general resemblance to a pair of pliers. The tool 14 has a pair of opposed jaws 15 and 16 of special construction as hereinafter discussed. A pair of hand grips 17 and 18 are employed, with the jaw 16 and the hand grip 18 being formed as a unitary part with a central body 19.

Ways 21 are cut in body 19 to form a track for carriage 22. Carriage 22 is formed as an integral part with jaw 15. The bottom ofycarriage 22 is formed as a rack 23 which is engaged by a partial pinion 24 formed in the end of the pivoted member 25 that comprises hand grip 17. Member 25 is received within a slot 27 in body 19 and rotatably mounted on a pin 28.

The exact structure by which the jaws 15 and 16 are mounted and moved with respect to each other is not a critical part of this invention. It will be apparent that various other well-known types of mountings might be employed. However, we do prefer a structure where one of the jaws 15 and 16 is moved parallel with respect to the other jaw, such as is found in the structure just described, rather than an arcuate movement.

laws 15 and 16 are identical except that each is a mirror image of the other. Each jaw has a projection at the end 29 of the jaw and extending a portion of the width of the jaw as seen in Figure 2. The dimensions of the projections are only slightly smaller than the dimensions of the recess 11 in the fastener 10 so that the projection will be seated in the recess. Spaced from the projections 30 in a direction away from the open end of the jaws are shoulders 31 that engage the fastener just at the base of the U to deform the fastener in the desired manner so as to firmly clamp the fastener about the neck of the bag or tube.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the magazine generally 34 which comprises a rail 35 mounted on a suitable supporting means 36. Rail 35 has an enlarged head 37. The fasteners 10 are slipped onto the upper end of rail 35 with the lugs 12 behind the enlarged head 37 whereby the fasteners are held on the rail in sequential order with the fasteners being moved downwardly on the rail by the action of gravity as a fastener is removed from the bottom of the magazine. The enlarged head 37 is cut away at the bottom of the magazine below line 38 which is spaced from the supporting means 36 a distance only slightly greater than the width of the fasteners 10. The supporting means 36 serves as a stop to arrest the downward movement of the fasteners 10.

At each side of the rail 35 in the space immediately above the supporting means 36 are a pair of stops 40 employed to facilitate the positioning of the tool 14 when a fastener is to be inserted in the jaws of the tool. The position of stops 40 is such that when the ends 29 of the jaws of the tool 14 are abutting the stops 40 the projections 30 will be positioned to enter the recesses 11 of the lower fastener 10 in the magazine. Thus a light pressure on the hand grips 17 and 18 will close the jaws 15 and 16 about the fastener 10 with the projections 30 entering the recesses 11 to mount the fastener in proper position in the tool 14, with the fastener 10 being withdrawn from the magazine 34 when the tool is moved away therefrom.

The procedure in applying the fastener 10 to the neck of a bag or a tube 43 is to first gather the neck 44 of the bag. This may be done by twisting the neck of the bag. Thereafter the fastener 10 is slipped around the gathered neck of the bag as seen in Figure 5. The jaws are then closed with the fastener 10 being deformed first as seen in Figure 6 and then as in Figure 7. It will be noted in these figures how the shoulders 31 press against the base of the U of the fastener 10 so as to flatten out the U to secure the fastener about the neck of the bag. It has been found that a better grip is obtained on the bag by the fastener when the fastener is flattened out in the manner seen in Figure 7 rather than attempting to wind the fastener about the bag in a convolution. The action of the shoulders and jaws also disengages the projections 30 from the fastener as seen in Figures 6 and 7.

The foregoing detailed description is only for clearness of understanding and for the purpose of complying with 35 U. S. C. 112, no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, and we do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. A tool for use with a flat metal, U shaped, fastening band having a recess adjacent the ends of the band, said tool having a pair of opposed jaws, each of said jaws having a projection adjacent one end of the jaw, said projection being slightly smaller in size than said recess of said band, each of said jaws having a shoulder spaced from said projection a distance substantially equal to the distance between the recesses and the closed end of said U shaped fastening band, and hand grip means operatively connected to said jaws to move the jaws toward and away from each other.

'4 I 2. A tool for use with a flat metal U-shaped band having a pair of jaw engaging means adjacent the ends of the band, said tool having a pair of opposed jaws, each of said jaws having a pair of band engaging means adjacent one end of the jaw, said jaw and said band engaging means comprising cooperating recesses and projections whereby one of said pair of means will engage the other of said pair of means, each of said jaws having a shoulder spaced from said band engaging means thereon a distance substantially equal to the distance between the jaw engaging means of said band and the closed end of said U-shaped band, and hand grip means operatively connected to said jaws to move said jaws toward and away from each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,225,180 Schaub May 8, 1917 1,451,133 Wilson Apr. 10, 1923 1,575,069 Lenk Mar. 2; 1926 1,596,872 Fretz Aug. 24, 1926 1,627,307 Bernard May 3, 1927 1,906,854 'Heinrich May 2, 1933 2,434,831 Bradenburg a Jan. 20, 1948 

